The Sweet Life: Reflections on Home and Garden

by Laura Stoddart

Laura Stoddart has a devoted following who love the humor and idiosyncrasy of her exquisite, tiny drawings. Now, in this prettiest and wittiest of anthologies, she puts drudgery in its place and elevates the charms of lolling about to new heights. What could be more pleasurable than puttering into the garden, trowel in hand? Perhaps puttering back out, with a cool drink in place of said trowel. Ms. Stoddart's droll little figures toil and tarry their way across page after page of ironic quotations and elegant verse. From Jane Austen to Benjamin Franklin, from Oscar Wilde to oft-quoted "Anonymous"--everyone has something to say about the pleasures of a well-kept house, the charms of an overgrown garden, and the surprisingly refreshing effect that five minutes spent on a patch of green grass can produce. This delightful primer on all things sweet is the perfect house gift--guaranteed to gain all indulgent souls direct entree to la dolce vita!

Genres: Poetry, Gardening, Art, Nonfiction

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Jenny U · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute collection of quotes and poems, great illustrations!

[Sonu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet reminder of things around us with good quotes and beautiful illustrations. It stays on my bedside table and i like to read it now and then:).

[Donna Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little book of quotes whose main point is the illustrations.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet, sweet gift.

[Becki Tovey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quaint and pretty book. A collection of sweetly illustrated quotes about home and garden.

Found this at my parent’s house so thought I’d try for something light.

This is a calm book. Each page is nicely composed and illustrated with a soft palette water colour, featuring elongated characters, often curiously playing with scale. These are imaginative, elegant and consistently charming images.

A nice gift to sit on the coffee table. There’s an 18th century Manor House feel. Carry with you on a trip to Chatsworth, take a sunny seat in the garden with an afternoon tea, sipped with the little finger sticking out daintily. Accompany with perfectly arranged triangles of salmon sandwiches, scones and miniature tarts and follow with a promenade under a parasol.

[Jennifer Fitzpatrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet little collection of quotes on home, hearth and garden life illustrated by beautiful little characters and fanciful drawings. A fun little book.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet reminders.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short and sweet book with charming illustrations

[dragonriderjinx · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 ⭐️ for illustrations
3 ⭐️ for quotations

[Christie Chambers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the illustrations the best

[Sofi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encantan los libros de dibujos que son simplemente para agradar a la vista con poemas cortos o frases celebres. Amoroso por donde lo mires, sus dibujos me encantan, como el de Midda voy a usarlo para decorar y tener en mi living toda la vida.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars is perhaps an exagaration but three stars is a bit too low. Really somewhere in between. The illustrations are lovely and some of the quotations are lovely as well. Some are not so bad and others are okay. But overall, I enjoyed this little book more than I thought.

[Kara]

Love this book! It's simply charming.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming, quirky drawings with snippets of poems and various quotes about nature, gardening, and home.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this at the Book Thing. Lots of fun quotes and crazy drawings.